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With less than two weeks until Trump’s inauguration, the Senate confirmation process for his roster of loyalists will be underway before we know it. The confirmation hearings for Trump’s energy picks are already set, with hearings for Interior nominee Doug Burgum, Energy nominee Chris Wright, and EPA nominee Lee Zeldin scheduled for January 14, January 15, and Wednesday or Thursday of next week respectively. This newsletter series will highlight the ties between Trump’s personnel picks and the exploitative industries and their billionaire CEOs who will be enriched by their appointments.

It’s only been two weeks since Donald Trump was re-elected President and the tenor of the next four years is already taking shape. The speed with which Trump’s transition team is announcing executive branch appointments is matched only by the swiftness with which those appointees will decimate the government’s capacity to serve the American people. The question now is whether Democrats and media understand the gravity of the situation and will act accordingly.

With anger, fear, and determination, we’re with you in this unsettled moment a week out from the election. It’s hard to predict or overstate how much may be on the brink of changing; hard to measure how much we’ve already lost, like the ‘functionally extinct’ goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2.7°F, or 1.5°C. And it’s hard to know how much we may stand to gain from new visions and forms of solidarity and resistance that grow in the years to come.

It’s time for another edition of an RDP Work Round-up to keep our loyal newsletter readers up-to-date with our blog posts. With the election less than a month away, now is the perfect time to look back at the polls, punditry, and policy debates that have dominated our news feeds lately. But first, we’d be remiss if we didn’t talk about the devastating hurricanes affecting the south east. 

With the election just a month away, and a change in administration looming in just three, many are once again asking a crucial question about the basic continuance of governmental function amidst the peaceful transition of power: How does government staffing work?

In an election year in which one presidential candidate cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of the largest piece of clean energy legislation in U.S. history, and another has pledged to “tell the frackers” to “drill, baby, drill” on Day 1 and repeatedly lied about the impacts of wind turbines, you would be forgiven for assuming that a political action committee (PAC) which claims to represent the interests of the renewable energy industry would be more aligned with the former candidate’s party than the latter. 

If Shondaland is ever looking to do a “How To Get Away With Murder” spin-off, we would humbly propose a remake about the lobbyists pushing to preserve lead pipes and forever chemicals in our water, to keep fracking near homes and schools, to keep power plants burning coal and gas, to keep car tailpipes polluting, and so on.

Labor Day is just around the corner, marking the unofficial end to an incredibly eventful summer in politics. It’s basically the last chance for a little reprieve before we’re inundated with the endless punditry and forecasting that accompanies the lead-up to a presidential election. So, before looking forward to November, let’s take a look back at some great research and writing that my RDP colleagues produced throughout the summer. You’ll be forgiven if some of this slipped past you in the chaos of the past two months. Luckily, in true summer reading fashion, you still have one week to cram before summer ends on Labor Day. Enjoy!